General provisions

Part of the Bachelor program in biomedicine.

Entry requirements

Completed course in Chemistry for biomedicine (3FK162) or equivalent.

Learning outcomes

The course should provide knowledge about the basic biochemical reactions in the living cell as well as give the ability to use some basic biochemical concepts and methods.

On completion of the course, the student is expected to be able to:

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

• describe the general structures of proteins, posttranslational modifications, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids
• describe and explain the binding of ligands to proteins
• describe the general properties of enzymes
• describe and explain the cell's metabolism of glucose, fatty acids and amino acids
• describe the cell's ATP production with and without oxygen
• describe the cell's metabolism of reactive oxygen species
• describe the structure of biological membranes

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• describe, explain as well as use basic methods in protein chemistry and enzymology
• use a software for visualisation of proteins and other macromolecules

JUDGEMENT AND APPROACH

• discuss biochemical reactions and their importance for the function of the cell and to some extent critically assess biochemical data and concepts.

Content

Theory

Protein structure, protein-ligand interactions, enzymology, structure of lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids and metabolism of glucose, fatty acids and amino acids (at a general level), the basic energy metabolism of the cell, reactive oxygen species, biological membranes, post-translational modifications, methods for isolation and analysis of proteins.

The laboratory course

Protein purification, enzyme kinetics, cell respiration and visualization of proteins in a computer.

A continuous evaluation of the course design is ongoing and may result in some changes in the structure and content of the courses.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars and laboratory work. Attendance is compulsory at the course introduction and seminars and laboratory sessions. Beside the teaching methods specified in the syllabus other ways of teaching may be used during the course.

Assessment

Passing the course requires i) an active participation in the compulsory components, ii) passed written laboratory reports and iii) passed individual written final examination.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.